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Asking for an EHC Needs Assessment

This page provides information on asking for an EHC needs assessment

All parents want the best for their children but some children will need extra help to progress at school. If you child has has severe or complex difficulties they may need more help than a school can provide from their own resources.

Your child may need a statutory assessment to find out what their difficulties are and what help they need to learn better.

The assessment process may result in the production of an Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan for your child.

EHC Needs Assessment

EHC needs assessment is the process whereby the local authority investigate a child’s special educational needs to decide whether the child needs support through an EHC plan.

Parents, schools and other professionals can request an EHC needs assessment.

The local authority considers the request and must not take more than six weeks to formally respond.

If the local authority decides not to carry out an EHC needs assessment they should provide feedback. Information and evidence gathered during the assessment process may be useful to the parents and the school in helping to meet the child’s needs without an EHC plan.

If the local authority agrees to carry out an EHC needs assesment they ask specialists, including teachers and the parents, to produce reports about the child for the assessment process. These reports will help them decide if the child needs an EHC plan or not.

A parent can appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) against a decision not to carry out an EHC needs assessment. Parents must consider mediation if they want to appeal.